good morning. defiance. the libyan kick at a time tore slams the u.n.'s slet of military action with a warning of his own. this morning they're fighting back bringing down one of his warplanes. we're live in tripoli for the latest. disaster in japan. the desperate efforts to prevent multipleuclear meltdowns and the search for an american teacher missing. and to the rescue. commuters waiting for a train become heros saving a young woman from a sex offender who appears to be trying to abduct her. it was all caught on camera "today" saturday, march 19th, it was all caught on camera "today" saturday, march 19th, 2011.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> we have to welcome you back. incredible reporting from japan. and you go out there within 24 hours of the quake. >> my head is still spinning from all we saw, the sights, sounds, fears and emotions. we'll also be talking about another crisis. libya may be reaching a boiling point. today gadhafi says western powers will regret it if they interfere in will i be began affairs. >> gadhafi called the u.n. resolution invalid and this morning there are new reports of fighting in benghazi. gadhafi forces are reportedly trying to storm the city and new images of a warplane that was apparently shot down over the skies of benghazi. this all comes as secretary of state hillary clinton meets in

paris today with nato members to discuss possible military action against the regime. we will have more in a moment. >> as we noted, the gentleman disaster in japan, emergency crews still trying to stop the radiation leaking from the crippled power plant. japan raised the nuclear crisis from a level four to level five. that is the same level for the three mile island accident in 1979. we'll get an update coming up. also the search for ap-american schoolteacher missing in japan 24-year-old taylor anderson helped her students get home after the quake hit, but then she disappeared. her parents have not heard from her since the disaster. they will join us morning to tell us what's being done to find her. >> also coming up, the murder case against casey anthony, the florida mop accused of kaling her daughter, caylee. with her trial just weeks away, a judge has made a very important ruling on stapts she made to the police, statements the defense doesn't want a jury to hear.

we'll tell you a lot more about that still ahead. but we want to begin with libya. gadhafi stepping up his rhetoric saying the demands for a cease-fire are invalid. jim maceda is live in tripoli for us. >> reporter: first let's go to benghazi and reports from both rebel fighters and residents there that gadhafi forces now are on the outskirts of benghazi and they are fighting on the outskirts. they moved from about 40 or 50 miles outside of town to about 12 miles last night. this morning they were just three miles out beyond the center of town with tanks firing towards the center. also mortar rounds were being fired. the rebels are under attack. no other way to describe it. these forces are coming from the so you were approach and this, of course, is in flagrant

violation not only of the u.n. security council resolution, but also of the libyan government's call for a unilateral cease fire yesterday. you mentioned the shots of the warplane. it turns out that the rebels have confirmed that that was one of their two or three very old 1970s rickety migs ghon deamigs. they sent it over to the southwestern part of town near the airport where the fighting is taking place. it's still unclear whether in fact that jet was taken out by anti-aircraft fire from gadhafi forces or when it simply caught fire. again, these are very old jets in states of disrepair. overnight here about in tripoli, one of the spokespersons here which is in fact a deputy foreign minister said that all these reports about attacks,

breaking the cease fire, violations of any kind, all of these are lies, they're fabrications coming from the rebel side, that it in fact, it's the rebels who are firing, the rebels triggering these types of incidents and he reinstated his call for a u.n. group, a delegation to come to monitor the cease fire to prove that it's the other side doing the violations. >> jim maceda in tripoli. thanks very much. now we want to turn to the pressure on gadhafi to comply with the cease fire. president obama is making it clear the libyan dictator has to end the fighting or else. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell now with the very latest. >> reporter: this is what the u.s. and it allies are trying to stop. gadhafi forces pounding rebels in the western city of misrata. the rebels claim this video i don't was taken friday even after gadhafi announced a cease fire. in fact gadhafi seemed

determined to carry out a bloody threat to retake the rebel strong hold benghazi. he said he would show no mercy and no compassion. all this prompted a grave commander in chief to issue a blunt warning. >> these terms are not subject to negotiation. if gadhafi does not comply with the resolution, the international community will impose consequences. and the resolution will be enforced through military action. >> reporter: president obama spoke shortly after briefing 18 congressional leaders, including many wary of yet another military engagement in a ththir muslim country. but in benghazi, rebels cheered the u.n. decision to come to their rescue. >> very happy. >> reporter: as the fighting continues, the president is sending his secretary of state to paris to consult again with the allies. >> colonel gadhafi's refusal to hear the repeated calls up until

now to halt violence against his own people have left us with no other choice but to pursue this course of action. >> reporter: u.s. officials say air strikes against gadhafi forces would be led by the british and french with an unusual arab coalition. support expected from squor dan, the united emirates, and kuwait. >> britain will deploy torontos as well as surveillance aircraft. >> reporter: president obama ruled out u.s. ground troops, but not air power. officials say the u.s. role would be to provide intelligence and track gadhafi's air defenses. the u.s. would also provide ariel refuel to go allied planes. the navy already had warships in the mediterranean equipped with missiles and helicopters. for "today," andrea mitchell, nbc news washington. >> with more, here is amy. president obama and the first family just arrived in brazil for what the white house calls a job seeking mission.

chuck todd is with the president and joins us from brazil. good morning, chuck. >> reporter: despite everything on the president's plate between japan, monitoring that situation, and of course the situation in libya, there was no thought of canceling this trip. there's a couple reasons. as you pointed out, they view this as a big chance to try to get a better foothold into south america economically. right now the chinese basically have had a greater role in south america and the rise of brazil and chile and some of the other south american economies and the united states has been trying to check china here a little bit. and so the president didn't want to try to cancel this. and yet send a message that a lot of south americans have believed over the years which is that america takes help for granted, doesn't take it seriously enough as a region. the president's day here today begins with a meeting with the new president of brazil, the

first woman president of brazil, they were supposed to take question, but the president of brazil didn't want to take any questions from the press. they say it has nothing to do with the fact that brazil was one of the five countries that abstained on the u.n. security council when it came to dealing with libya. >> we know the president has said the united states will not take the lead on this no fly zone resolution. so then what will the u.s. role actually be? >> reporter: hillary clinton is in paris trying to figure that out. publicly the president as you noted isn't going to rule out using u.s. air power, but behind the scene, it's clear that the united states doesn't want the american military used in any war actions for now. they would really like to see as far as air power is concerneded egyptians and saudis who probably have the two best air forces who are both members of the arab league that they take the lead. so that's part of the discussions today that secretary

clinton is having with nato al highs. >> all right, chuck todd traveling with the president in brazil, thank you. for more, we're joined by jamie rubin, former z assistant of state under president bill clinton. escalated to quite a m. gadhafi says western powers will regret it if they interfere in libyan affairs and any action would be, quote, clear aggression. is this like a game of chess or do we know what his next move is going to be? >> i don't think we know his next move. personally i thought he'd go for this cease fire as a wave stopping the wegs and tbombs.yv stopping the bombs. ove stopping the bombs.fve stopping the bombs. stopping the bombs. u.s. officials will be able to determine through intelligence whether the libyan forces are attacking or not. and once that decision is determined, i think that will be

part of what's happening in paris and my guess right now looks like there will be an air campaign in the next 24 to 48 hours. >> and speaking of paris, we mentioned secretary of state hillary clinton there, we saw her. what options are on the table? because they're obviously talking about the no fly zone following it up with military support, but what about any ground rooms? is there a possibility that that would follow some. >> no, i don't think so. and i don't think ground troops will be necessary. if this really comes together and it's still a big if with u.s. support, british and french air power in the lead, arab air forces involved, i think what you'll see is a pretty large scale attack on gadhafi's air defenses and then a no fly zone put in place. and then if the attacks continue, i think you'll see world aircraft attacking gadhafi's forces on the ground. and the one good thing, the silver lining here, is if there is a place in the world, you

want to see air to ground attacks, it's in the desert, the best praise to do this kind of operation. president obama has been clear about no ground troops. but i would say that this is a puzzling role for the united states. traditionally we do play much more of a leadership role leading nato -- >> the president obama has been criticized for that, for not being more aggressive. could that have made a difference in what we're seeing now in libya? sq >> i think there's no question had what happened in the last 48 hour, a ufrn resolution authorizing force, that had it been done two weeks ago, the libyan situation would have been completely different. gadhafi might have already left by now seeing the whole world against him. he really had a last gasp effort and took advantage of it. but here we are and we are where we are and i think for now this is going to be a fairly long standoff with western and arab air power used against gadhafi's forces and these rebels could b

bling the best ground force they can and that's the nature of what is essentially a civil war in libya. >> all right, we appreciate it. thanks so much for joining us this morning. we want to turn to japan now where a nation devastated by an earthquake and tsunami is now continuing to rye to prevent a nuclear crisis from becoming much worse. right now the desperate efforts to stop radiation leaking from the crippled power plant where several reactors have been badly damaged. robert bazell is in tokyo for us this morning. bob, good morning. >> reporter: hello, lester. the japanese government just announced that it has found levels of radiation in spinach and milk from farms in the north of japan. the government says the amounts are very small. they said if you drank one glass of milk every day for a year, you would get the same amount of raid i yags that you would get

when you have an krcht t scan or if you ate one portion of spinach, you'd get one-fifth as much. but this shows you why the fight to keep more radiation from leaking is going on. as part of the desperate struggle to cool down the dangerous nuclear fuel, firefighters hosed down reactor number three. smoke rising from the plant shows the effort is at least partially successful. in the next major evident, workers are hooking electricity to try to get the pumps running, with you wh but what if they're damaged beyond repair? >> there are so many factors i won't even start to guess. >> reporter: beyond the reactor core, pumps are needed to refill tanks like these. there are 1760 tons of fuel in the tanks. four times more than in the reactor. this photograph shows the damage near the fuel tanks at reactor four. officials fear many tanks may have lost all or part of their water in the earthquake leaving the fuel susceptible to damage or even explosion. shooting or pumping water is one

solution, but there is great concern that some of the pools are too damaged to hold water. u.s. engineers have developed a plan to fill the tanks with sand and other materials. the japanese say this is not feasible, but outside experts disagree. >> the idea with putting sand on the spent fuel pool is that it provides protection so that they can come back in and put water or something else on that will shield that -- stop the radiation from leaking out, slow down all of what's going on and give them time to make the next step happen. >> reporter: measurements taken by u.s. military planes show dangerous levels of radiation remain confined to the area near the plant. according to international agencies, the rates beyond the plant do not yet exceed dangerous levels. even though they're not beyond what people consider safe, the finding of the radiation in milk and spinach shows why this is such a big deal. even if the plant were to stop emitting radiation tomorrow, which it won't, every time a

parent hears about radiation in any levels in milk or something, they're going to get really concerned and so we'll hear incidents of this kind of contamination for weeks or maybe even years from now. >> disturbing development. robert bazell in tokyo. thank you. ian williams is in northern japan today where the recovery efforts continue. ian is with american p troops helping in the cleanup efforts. >> reporter: good morning. today we've joined volunteers from a local u.s. military base wanting to play their part in cleaning up the debris from the tsunami. they came from the air force and army as well as civilians from the base moved by the plight of their japanese neighbors. ? sgl if there is wetness over there, stay out of the liquids. there might be chemicals in the area. >> reporter: the battered port area including cars thrown into the local forest. >> the chance to get out here

and help our neighbors, it's important. we needed to come. >> we're all out here helping and i'd do it every day until they get it back. >> reporter: this area survived the tsunami better than most. at least there is something left to clean up. further down the coast, entire communities have been wiped from the map. and there are reports of critical 140r9ages of food, water, medicine and heating oil. the u.s. has offered to help japan in every way it can. the priority, though, remains getting those basic supplies to those still in desperate need in the worst affected areas. back to you. >> ian williams in northern japan. time for a check of some of the morning's other headlines. melissa francis is at the news desk for us. good morning, everyone. we begin in wisconsin where the judge has put the brakes on the new collective bargaining law delaying it from taking effect. the anti-union law prompted protests from thousands of public workers. the judge's order is in response

to a lawsuit alleging lawmakers passed the measure without giving proper notice. raising the possibility of another vote. the republican attorney general says he will appeal. former secretary of state warren christopher has died. the 85-year-old passed away last night at his home in los angeles from complications from bladder and kidney cancer. he served during president clinton's first term and worked for peace in bosnia in the middle east. and former haitian president returned to haiti ahead of tomorrow's presidential elections. he's been in exile for seven years. the former president is criticizing a decision to bar his political party from elections. and relatives of victims who died in a new york city tour bus crash one week ago will return to the site of the crash this morning. interstate 95 will be closed for about an hour to allow for a buddhist ceremony. the bus was returning to chinatown from an overnight trip

to a connecticut casino. 15 were killed and the investigation continues. finally, get ready for lunar show. they call it super moon. tonight the full moon will be the closest it has been in nearly 19 years. it will look massive and bright especially when it's near the horizon. an obstacle illusion makes it look 16% bigger and 30% brighter than usual. it will also create high tides and beach erosions, but experts tell us it's not a bad omen and it's harmless. wow. i guess we'll probably all be asleep by then, but maybe we'll check out the pictures tomorrow. that's the news. back to amy, lester and bill. >> those pictures made it look 500% bigger. >> magic of tv. bill karins is here with our first check of the forecast. >> yesterday was nice in the east, right? it was so nice. we wanted to bottle it up and take it back out today. but things have changed and also out west, that's where the worst weather will be. this is our last winter week he said thankfully, but out in

california, you'll get heavy snow and rain and wind, it won't be pretty today around snan and especially tomorrow down the coast in los angeles and even san diego. so there is your forecast for today. much cooler in new england and also cooler in the carolinas. that warmth, that nice heat that we had is now confined to texas and florida. and there is all that wet weather on the west coast. that's a look at your national >> good morning. this is what skycam looked at sunrise today with clouds moving in and sunshine moving out of the picture. nice sunrise. plenty of sunshine, breezy, and that's your weekend broadcast. lester. >> we'll be back with more in a

moment, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

we're so glad to have you back. just got back from japan two days ago, correct? >> yeah. >> and you were there almost immediately after the quake struck. >> yeah, i was in europe on personal business and we made our way to seoul and then finally japan. got there the night after. the minute you get there, you have aftershocks. we found people like this in sendai. their apartments had been trashed and they were living in their cars. and we were talking when it all starts to run, they run to their cars because they were afraid it was carrying radioactivity. >> black rain. >> and there is historical

significance. so the stigma of history. >> and was there a lot of information coming to these folks, did they know what was happening? >> this was the problem. none of us knew what was happening. you knew there was this nuclear issue and the government was down playing it, that it's safe, but then you'd hear something else. so there was a real crisis of confidence. they've lost their home, their neighborhoods, their families, and now am i okay where i am. >> and they couldn't leave because there was a fuel shortage. >> no gas. i remember going to the airport the other day in tokyo, about an hour and a half, very congested city, we zipped out there in 55 minutes. there is nobody on the roads because nobody has fuel and people are increasingly afraid to go outside because of the radiation fear. >> and still and ongoing situation. you have to feel for everyone who is still there. >> and those of us who have covered war zones and conflicts,

we can prepare for that. you get helmets and bulletproof vests. this one you look outside and it looks fine. but you never know. >> great reporting. we'll be right back. >> good morning. i'm jennifer franciotti. it is 7:25. here is a look at some of our top stories for you this morning. a six-year veteran of the baltimore police department is recovering at shock trauma from a gun shot wound.

it happened on the 2400 block of harford road. an officer approached a suspect on a bicycle when the person on the bicycle shot the officer and another officer. the other officer said to be in stable condition. >> police responded to another shooting in east baltimore in the area of patterson park. two men found in the 2400 block of hoffman street with gun shot wounds. they were both taken to the hospital, and this morning, no word on their conditions. >> more gunfire in west baltimore. the two shooters were five minutes apart and 10 blocks from each other. the first happened after 2:00 near losier street. an 18-year-old was shot there. moments later a. 20 -- moments later, a 20-year-old was shot nearby. police believe the shootings are related. both taken to shock trauma. >> new evidence this morning in

the murder of a yoga store owner. the woman's co-worker has been arrested. 27-year-old brittany norwood has been charged with the murder of jana murray. she had said two masked men broke in after closing. investigators say forensic evidence did not support norwood's story. winds heard the two women arguing. we're back with a check on the

>> good morning. taking a look at our live h.d. doppler radar combination. still showers overhead. that all moved to the sowlingt of the cold front. what you see here are false echos around the radar side. cooler air. not nearly as warm as yesterday. current temperatures outside give us a reading of 54 at the airport right now. the humid is down. the barometer is rising. northwest winds gusting. downtown the temperature 56 degrees. of course we have the sun out there. we'll see more and more sun during the day $today as this front slowly pushes south. that front pushes south as slightly cooler air approaches. we expect highs in the 50's today. northwest wind 10 to 20. small craft advisories are out on the way. -- on the bay. high of mid 50's typical for this time of year. plenty of sun, and spring starts at 7:21 in the evening on sunday.

our forecast is a good one for the next couple days, and then it gets rainy early next week. >> yea spring! thanks, john, and thanks for joining us. we'll be back in another 25 minutes with an update for y we're back on this saturday morning, march 19th, 2011. it's an early spring morning here in new york city. a great group of people outside. we want to thank them for spending part of their morning with us. coming up on "today," good samaritans to the rescue. >> this video we'll show you is pretty hard to believe fp shows a registered sex offender, he's allegedly trying to abduct a young woman, it happened on a platform of a los angeles commuter train station, but the apparent kidnapping was stopped when a group of commuters came to the woman's rescue. we'll show you more of those incredible images and tell tell you more in a moment. >> also ahead, something we can all relate to, rising prices it

at the grocery store. prices are at an all-time high. and to make matters worse, manufacturers are finding ways to give you less for more. but we can help you navigate through those aisles and get the best deals in the market. and then we'll spend a saturday morning with a hollywood icon, the shirley jones. she's in new york with something our tv mom has never done before. we'll tell you more coming up. >> a little sneak peek right there will. >> we want to begin this half hour with a serious story. a major setback to casey anthony. she's set to stand really accused of killing her young daughter. her defense team was fighting to stop potentially incriminating statements she gave to police, but yesterday a judge delivered a devastating blow. more from mark potter. >> reporter: the ruling in orlando is a big win for the prosecution which plans to use

casey anthony's own words against her in trial. judge bell vin perry rejected the defense argument that some of anthony's statements to police should be thrown out because she wasn't read her miranda rights. >> this is huge for the prosecution to be able to show that a mother was lying to the police about the disappearance of her own daughter. >> reporter: defense attorneys argued that anthony should have been read her rights when she was first arrested for alleged child neglect in july 2008. not after she was charged three months later with murdering her daughter, caylee. >> that entire time you didn't mirandize. >> correct. >> reporter: in explaining why he never read her her rights, the detective said anthony at that point appeared as a victim who had lost her child. >> she was the mother of a missing child. i didn't think she had committed a crime. there was nothing no reason to mirandize her. >> reporter: the judge wrote because the court finds that these statements occurred during consents sul encounters with police, the failure of law enforcement to advise her of

miranda warnings do not render the statements inadmissible. in an odd twist friday, the nbc station in orlando uncovered a 2008 jailhouse video of anthony telling her brother she was given her rights early in the case. >> when mellick read me my rights in front of the other two detectives flat out said i'm going to hold you there as long as i can. >> the last thing defense lawyers needed when they're trying to say that the police should have been explaining miranda to casey anthony is evidence that kay scasey anthonw it so well she was making up lies about it. >> reporter: the ruling frees the process quugs to argue to the jury that anthony repeatedly lied to investigators by claiming a baby-sitter took her child an concocting a story about where she worked. anthony's trial is scheduled for may. for "today," mark potter, nbc nu ne news, miami. with us now is former new york city prosecutor and

criminal defense attorney paul callan. there's a fine line between material witness and suspect. when do things change? >> it's interesting that term material witness, suspect, person of interest, it's something that's developed kind 1/2 recent years. it used to be you were a suspect or not. but the police have got this more sophisticated terminology. but in the end, with respect to whether you get your miranda warnings has to do with whether you were in custody or not. >> so once they say you're under arrest, it changes everything. >> when they slap the cuffs or on you lack you in the back of a police cruiser, you have to get your constitutional rights. but here there was a more so sophisticated analysis going on. let's say three police officers are standing in about your living room around you asking you questions. are you in custody there? would you think yourself restrained? that's what the judge was trying to decide, should miranda warnings have been given.

>> so what the judge is saying is that she's freely talking at this point and she's not a suspect, so all those statements now come into play. how damaging is this to her? >> well, this is a big blow to the anthony defense because the case is a circumstantial evidence case. there is no direct witness to the death of the 2-year-old child. they're building the case on little pieces of evidence. and a lot of the evidence consists of casey anthony's inappropriate strange reaction to the disappearance of her own child. and to what police say were lies that were told during the course of the police investigation. >> and that gets to the other point, when she killed her child or not, the really will determine that, but i think we already get the sense that she's a liar because we hear her make the statements about the warnings where the miranda right which is weren't read. so how does that play into her overall credibility? >> well, i think it hurts her tremendously because it's one of the few cases -- usually the police have in saying we advised her of her miranda right, we told her she had the right to --

and here she tells somebody that she was in fact given her rights and the police said she was not. so why would she lie about that? it's one of a series of what the prosecution says are many lies that suggest she's lying about how her child disappeared. >> all that said, do you still think prosecutors have a pretty high bar to cross here to convict her 1234. >> she always do when the charge involves a mother who is allegedly the killer of her own child. 2 t. it goes against human nature. juries don't want to believe it. so they usually require a very, very strong amount of evidence to convict and these are hard cases for the prosecutor. here it's going to be especially difficult, no eyewitness. we're not even cheer about how this poor little child died. there is a real dispute as to whether she was suffocated or whether there was drtrauma. so difficult case for the

prosecution. >> thanks for coming on. now for a check of the weather, let's go paback to bill karins. temperatures have taken a big dip here in the east. wonderful crowd out here. yesterday we had record highs on the eastern seaboard. not the case today. the cold front visliced through. yesterday 80 in washington, d.c. chaerrair bloerry blossoms gett. temperatures 20 to 30 degrees cooler today. no rain, but don't expect the warmest when you send out for your saturday errands. middle of the country is wet and along with the west coast. remember, we welcome in spring as we go through sunday night. that's a look at your nationaloo >> good morning. the sun is out. high temperatures in the 50's. stormy stuff out west doesn't come in until next week. our forecast today, plenty of

voirs if you ever want your hour by hour forecast, go to weather.com. up next, grocery store markups. are you paying more and getting less sf how to navigate the market aisles coming up. plus find out what david cassidy says about the one and only shirley jones. but first these messages. make y, don't suffer waiting for your pills to kick in. add alaway. for fast eye itch relief that works in minutes and lasts up to 12 hours. only alaway comes from the eye care experts at bausch & lomb. so when allergies strike, add alaway. because it's not just your allergies, it's your eyes.

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this morning on consumer, rising food prices. any trip to the supermarket will show you just how high prices are soaring and we're talking about the biggest jump in 36 years. consumer reporter janice lieberman is here to tell us which items are being hit the hardest and how to avoid sticker shock. >> i'm feeling it, are you?

>> absolutely. >> well, the usda predicts food prices will climb 3% to 4%. but why? we did a little digging and checked with experts on how you can save. have you checked the prices at the checkout lately? food prices are getting higher and higher. cereal and baked goods jumping 4.5%. dairy up 5.5%. and fruits and veggies, 3% to 4%. what's to blame? a bad weather. it slashed the amount of food farmers produced. according to the usda, corn reserves are at their lowest level in 15 years. and that's especially a problem since ethanol uses a quarter of the corn harvested. throw inflation in to the recipe and the results are not good. >> rising food prices huge issue for consumers. chances are you'll see bigger

price tags at your local pizza place or deli. it's the reality we're all facing. >> reporter: but for day to day shoppers, the supermarkets will be the place most will feel the bite. prices on some items may look the same, but consumer advocates say the packages have shrunk. orange juice has a few ounces shaved. air pumped in to yogurt containers. just a few ways experts say manufacturers hide the increase. so how do you negotiate your way through the aislie ins at the market? i asked senior editor at consumer reports to show me how to shop. first, a simple switch. swap name brands for generics. >> so average they can save you 25%, 30% off the cost of the name brand. and if do you an extr you you d trags, you could save $2,000, maybe more with very little loss of quality. weren't don't be lured in to grabbing an end cap item.

>> people expect the items to be on sale there and usually they are, but sometimes items are put on end caps that aren't on sale and you'll see some trickery going on, sometimes they'll take a searear cereal, for example, t they have to move.ear cereal, f they have to move.ar cereal, fo they have to move. cereal, for they have to move.cereal, for ey have to move. because it's nearing the end of their expiration dates. >> reporter: and compare competing products closely. allow do you check out what's cheap sner. >> the key thing to finding out which size is the better bargain is to look at the unit price.unit price is the cost per how long, per quart, per pound. look at the unit price because it's based on a quart. $1.63 here, and in it will instance $1.08. >> reporter: big difference. and before you pay, be sure to hand over your coupons and customer card. all little changes that add up to big savings. >> we contacted the grocery manufacturers association about changes this package size and

they said this this, quote, in times when it costs like commodity, fuel, et cetera are rising over fast and extended periods, inevitably consumers will eventually see the impact at retail. some companies raise the price of their products, some companies choose to slightly reduce the size of their product and keep prices stable. so that's how they pass it on. >> i like how they say that that's keeping the prices stable, but they're actually reducing how much you're getting. obviously we learned from you thousand shop smart, but is there any good news for consumers out there in the upcoming years?howthousand shop there any good news for consumers out there in the upcoming years? thousand shop s there any good news for consumers out there in the upcoming years?od shop smart, be ey have 5% more corn than lastp year, so we may see that trickle down, but it will take a while. >> as it always does. all right, thanks so much. coming up next, come on get happy. how does shirley jones spend chher weekend? we'll show you. ♪

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generations. and for the oscar win who are has done it all, something new. for the first time, she's performing a cabaret show in new york. the setting, intimate. the star, nervous. but ready. >> once i relax and get into it, i think i'm really going to enjoy it a hlot. >> reporter: so will her fans. the best may be her own, how at 17 jones first audition ever landed her a role on broadway in south pacific. >> and within a year, i was playing the lead in the motion picture oklahoma. ♪ oh, what a beautiful morning i don't think it could ever happen today what happened to me when i was 17 1/2 years old. >> reporter: from the movie, she then hit it big on the small screen as the mate yark of a musical family on the classic show. it was a perfect fit. >> i was the first working mother on television. this was so interesting to me

ame. danny done due which i was my bad little kid, which he still is, by the way. >> reporter: of course keith was played by her real life stepson david cassidy who during our interview had a surprise for jones. >> i just wanted to take it will stunt to say you're the greatest stepmother anybody could ever have had. i love you so much and thank you for all that you have given me in my life. >> oh, how flovely. >> reporter: jones is mattered to a producer and writer who is never without a punch line. the laughs keep coming and for the pair it's a bond that holds them together. >> we go through the seriousness, we yell and scream, but we end up laughing. >> reporter: the laughing is there. so is the love. even if it's unspoken. >> he has a big problem saying i love you. >> i show it in other ways. >> i know you do. i know he loves me, but he has a

hard time saying the words. >> reporter: they spend weekends shopping or watching classic movies at home in california. but both are in new york preparing for jones' cabaret debut. ♪ blue moon, you saw me standing alone ♪ all right now an incomparable star begins a new chapter always looking ahead, never turning back. >> i like who i am for the most part and when i get up in the morning, i feel good. >> expect to see more of shirley jones and her husband in the weeks and months ahead. the two are set to star in their own reality series. >> i love their love story. it's cute and funny. >> do you remember i interviewed danny bonaduce and david cassidy and david pointed out that he and shirley were the only musicians in the partridge family, the others were just faking it. >> and you were destroyed because you -- >> because i thought can danny

was a base player. a whole other story. we'll be back with more in a moment, but first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come, the latest on the nuclear crisis unfolding in japan. >> plus commuters stop the attempted abduction of a young woman. the amazing video coming up. but first these messages. about quaker oatmeal squares. ible a single serving has 46 grams of whole grains. that's 96% of your minimum whole grain needs for the day. are you kidding me? they fuel you up to start your day right... and they taste great. ♪ amazing mornings start with quaker oatmeal squares. so come on, get up and get going. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have an allergy attack?

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>> good morning. i'm lowell melzer. it is 7:55. here's a look at some of our

top stories that we're following this morning. a baltimore city police officer is recovering at shock trauma this morning from a gun shot wound. it happened in the 2400 block of harford road. the detectives say the officer approached an armed man on a bike when the suspect shot one officer in the neck and another officer shot the suspect. the officer whose name has not been released is said to be in stable condition. >> in howard county two firefighters recovering from injuries from an apartment fire. the blaze broke out after 10:00 friday morning on the 3600 block of columbia road. residents were able to get out safely. officials say it took units from baltimore city, p.g. and montgomery county less than an hour to bring the fire under control. the cause is still under investigation. new details released this morning in the murder of a jogia store employee in bethesda. it is a twist that's turned a victim into a suspect.

the woman originally thought to be a survivor has been arrested. 27-year-old brittany norwood has been charged with the murder. jana murray. >> as the investigation continued, our analysis of forensic evidence was not supporting ms. norwood's story. in fact, it was taking us in a different direction. after finding physical and forensic evidence inside the deceased victim's car, ms. norwood became a suss -- suspect. police say winds heard the two women argui

>> good morning. it is still warm, but not too warm. temperatures will be rising very slowly today from the upper 40's and low 50's to the upper 50's to near 60's. for high readings today. not as spectacular as yesterday's high. swe expect 52 to be the high. noftly sunny, a nice day. a little gusty. it gets a little cooler this week. seven-day forecast, nice day for the first day of spring. spripping doesn't come in until the evening hours. rain chances kick in monday, tuesday, and wednesday.

temperatures up near 60. the end of the week, only in the 40's. maybe a few snow flakes by friday. >> thanks, john. thanks for joining us. we'll have another update for you at 8:25. welcome back to "today." it's march 19th, 2011. i'm lester holt alongside amy robach. we're following fast changing developments in libya. moammar gadhafi showed the world he's not going to back down to u.s. pressure to a cease-fire. he said the resolution threatening military action is in-value rid and also said the west would regret any involvement and the warning comes as the fighting intensifies pl we'll get the latest. >> and we also have new details in japan where the radiation from a damaged plant continues to leak. at the same time, the country is

struggling with the after math of that devastating earthquake and tsunami. thousands of people remain missing including an american schoolteacher, her name is taylor anderson and she has not been seen since the disaster struck. her parents will join us this morning with her story. >> also a case what have would do you. if you witnessed an attempted abduction, we'll show you what commuters in will california did, they were waiting for a train and a sex offender apparently tried kidnap a young woman aboutill california did, they were waiting for a train and a sex offender apparently tried kidnap a young woman abou they were waiting for a train and a sex offender apparently tried kidnap a young woman abou e white house.nomar gadhafi.d he's taking aim at the u.n. and the white house.gadhafi. he's taking aim at the u.n. and the white house. jim maceda is live in tripoli to tell us more. >> reporter: let's start with the gadhafi reaction. he actually sent two you are against messages according to the spokesman here, one to president obama and the other one to the united states and the leaders of france and great

britain. he said that there was no validity at all in the u.n. resolution, that the u.n. had no right to send -- to launch a military intervention in this any country in the world, that it's a racist act, that it's a sign of blatant colonialism and there will be significant and serious consequences in the medical terrainian and in europe. and specifically targeting sarkozy and cameron, he said you will regret your actions. the situation is indeed fast moving in benghazi. right now we're learning that the defenses that have been set up by roebels on the southwesten outskirts of the city have fallen, that the pro gadhafi forces have gone in to the southeasternout skir outskirts. rebelses have retreated in will to t center of town and preparing for a street to street battle.

>> we've seen seen a picture coming out of the region today. it look like a fighter jet coming down in flames. what do we know about that? >> reporter: we now know that takes rebel fighter jet. the rebels commandeered two or three of the old fighter planes. they date back to the early 1970s. they commandeered them including the military airport there. they sent up one of those fighter planes to try to engage in the southwest part of the city the approaching gadhafi forces. and it's still not clear whether it was pro gadhafi forces that took that plane out, whether it was rebel forces crossfire, if you will, or simply a mechanical failure. it would not be the first time that these old planes have had

trouble guy floflying. president obama's warning comes as he and the first family begin a trip to bazzabout braz. chuck todd is traveling with the president good morning. >> reporter: despite everything going on on two different continents that the white house is monitoring, there was no thought of canceling this trip. why? already the ties between the united states and the leading economic power here in south america, brazil, have been tenuous. china has a bigger economic role here in this this continent than the united states, they're very competitive, so economically for those reasons, the white house felt they couldn't cancel this trip, that they had to come because the price they would pay in the region would be too high despite all the things they have to do. so what they've done is chief of staff bill daley and the

national security adviser are traveling with the president in order to keep him apprised. >> there's a lot of news out of libya, gadhafi says western powers will regret it if they interfere in libyan affairs. how will the president respond to the rhetoric? >> reporter: as you know, hillary clinton is in paris to meet with nato officials and arab league officials at this point and obviously the whole point of yesterday's statement by the president was to give libya something, hang something on here to sort of say, well, you left us no choice but to respond militarily. so the call for the cease fire was just that. obviously he's not abiding. so the question is what will the coalition look like that participates in the military acti action. is it going to be nato that takes the lead? will the saudis and gee egyegyp.

so all of those questions are at the table today for secretary clinton in paris and obviously no u.s. troops will be used on the ground in in libya. and maybe only a limited amount of u.s. air power. >> chuck todd in brazil this morning. thanks. now amy. it's been eight days since japan was definite investigat d earthquake and now the nuclear crisis as crews scramble to prevent multiple meltdowns. robert bazell joins us there tokyo. good morning, robert. >> reporter: good morning, amy. they've made major progress in the last few hours. they've gotten electricity to reactors one and two.

>> we're having trouble with robert's audio. we'll try to get back with him. in the past week, sales of anti-radiation pills and masks have surged here in the united states out of the concern that the nuclear disaster in japan could spread radiation here. here to help clear up some of these questions about radiation and the risk it may pose to your health is dr. nancy snyderman. thanks so much for joining us. and there are some rising fears as there are trace amounts of radiation from japan showing up here. are there any significant health concerns? >> no, but we did see two things happen last week. we saw this plume of radioactive material cross over the pacific from japan and trace amounts were detected on the california shore. and that was expected. but those particles dissipated over that 5,000 mile travel and then also a few jetliners

landed. one notefully an american airlines flight pick pd up radioactive in the cargo hold, but it was medical equipment that was being transferred. we all know that people on their shoes and some on their suitcases may have picked up trace amounts, but we're talking trace amounts. and nothing that at this point would put an american at harm's risk. >> and yet that said, people are still running out and buying decontamination suits. iodide tablets. even with what you just said that there is no health risk, why do you think there is still will this reaction? >> i think frankly the american government -- we heard from the homeland security and the national regulatory commission all of it having to do with radiation. two people we didn't hear from, we didn't hear from the head of health and human services and we didn't hear from the surgeon general. and when americans have a health crisis or the fear of one, you need to hear from the people who

will say here is the science, we're going to to hold your hand and we will tell you the truth. and i thought it was a terrible lack of leadership last week, frankly, from the federal government. it wasn't until the president stepped forward and said you are not at harm's risk that people sort of listened. so i've said all week long if you take these iodide tablets, it's not necessarily going to save your thighoid fryroid from. if you have an underlying thyroid problem or if you have shellfish allergy, it could cause a problem. so it isn't necessarily good and this just takes care of the iodide. there is plutonium and other heavy metals noting around. the long term consequences are really for the japanese and that immediate area and we already know now that livestock and milk and plants are incorporating these. it's going to hurt their ecosystem much more than ours. >> and with all of this concern about radiation, should people be concerned about the way we are exposed to it perhaps on a

more regular basis like x-rays or ct scans? people are starting to get concerned about the whole concept of radiation. >> i'm a big believer that should you know what you're going to be dosed with. every day you and i walk outside and we get raid frigs from the planets and from raydon in the soil is. so that's why i don't think you should just go and get a ct scan because it's a good thing to do on a friday afternoon. that's real radiation. but we live in a society where there is low level radiation. so you mitt gadw mitigate your avoid exposure. and a lot of this is prepared ths. if you live near a fault line, be prepared. if you live new a nuclear generator, be prepared. but your preparation goes a lot more toward keeping you healthy than a knee jerk reaction after a crisis. >> dr. nancy snyderman, we appreciate it. thank you so much. melissa francis is at the news desk for more of today's top stories. good morning, everyone. we begin with a bizarre twist with the murder of a lululemon.

>> reporter: brittany norwood killed dana murray inside the store last friday night and fabricated a story about two suspects will gloves and masks. >> it was a dispute between the two women.iill gloves and masks. >> it was a dispute between the two women.nill gloves and masks. >> it was a dispute between the two women.gloves and masks. >> it was a dispute between the two women. gloves and masks. have witnesses that were in he the apple store that heard two females arguing. >> reporter: police say norwood lured the victim back to the store after they had closed up saying she had forgotten her wallet. the murder happened at 1some point after that. police say norwood moved murray's car from in front of the store leaving evidence behind that linked her to the crime. >> after finding physical and forensic evidence inside the deceased victim's car, ms. norwood became a suspect in the case. >> reporter: norwood told investigators that she and murray had been sexually assaulted by the two as sale ants, but police now say that

was also a lie. police would not say if norwood's injuries were self in-flukted or if murray had fought back. murray died from blunt force trauma and stab wounds. they say there is no evidence to indicate anyone else was involved in the crime that created fear on bethesda row. >> that was dorothy spepser reporting. sdwh yegyptians are heading to te polls today. a yes vote would allow parliamentary and presidential elections to be held this year. and a new poll finds that most americans are in favor of gay marriage. the poll finds that 53% support same-sex marriage legislation. in 2004, that support was just 32%. right now same sex marriage is legal in five states and the district of columbia. and finally, the houston zoo

has a new addition, a baby giraffe. just moments after she was born, video captured her struggling to get up. so sweet. she eventually made to her feet and nursed from her mother. zoo officials say the two are doing just fine. i think that's exactly what it's like when a supermodel is born, also. back to you. bill karins is out on the plaza with a check of your forecast. good morning. >> good saturday morning. we had a lot of aaahs. all these girls here on their senior trip from upper scioto valley high school. let's take a look at what's happening around the country. california is in for this this weekend. high winds, mountain snow, two to three feet. also going to see a ton of rain. even coastal areas could get heavy rain including los angeles. and then the middle of the

country, thunderstorms in oklahoma will move into areas of missouri, kansas city, st. louis will see heavy rain throughout the afternoon. if you're wondering where all the heat went, it >> good morning. this is what skycam looked at sunrise today with clouds moving in and sunshine moving out of the picture. nice sunrise. plenty of sunshine, breezy, and dramatically. and these nice ladies got the we love amy sign. i made high opmy own and put le here. taylor anderson helped her students get home after last friday's powerful earthquake in

japan and then left the schoolle on her bike. that was the last time the 24-year-old from richmond, virginia was seen. her parents, andy and jean anderson join us now from richmond. good morning to both of you and thanks so much for coming on with us. >> good morning. >> jean, i'll start with you. when you heard about the earthquake and tsunami, did you immediately realize that the community taylor was working in was potentially in the path? >> yes, i saw miyagi on the television and i knew that was her prefecture. >> and you probably didn't expect her to pick up the phone right away under the circumstances. when were you able to at least get some information about her whereabouts immediately at the time of the quake? >> this past wednesday. >> and what were you told? >> that she was working at the elementary school. >> she was working at the school, the quake happened. my understanding is that she helped get some of the kids

home. is that what you've heard? >> we heard that the parents were coming for their children. she waited until the children were picked up. some of them -- some of the parents hadn't arrived yet, so they were outside waiting and that's when she left and was told take she needs to be careful because tsunamis often come after an earthquake. >> her form of transportation was a bicycle. have you been able to do the math and figure out how much time she had from the time she left until the tsunami came through? >> yes, it was probably 10 to 15 minutes. and she could probably travel two to three kilometers at the most. and it was a good four kilometers back to the other side of the river where she lived. so we assume that she would be somewhere in that area unless she heard a siren and started biking towards higher ground.

>> and we know that she didn't make to her apartment. i know you've been reaching out to members of congress, your representatives as well as other representatives of the u.s. government. what efforts have they made to try and find her? >> they've got officers who go into an area and interview all the people involved. we were able to find out tuesday night when we were able to make contact with one of her friends where she actually worked that day and the next day one of the local officials who is an american that works for miyagi prefecture went and interviewed some of the people at the school. and that's when we really need the time line, that she left just before the tsunami warning and probably was gone about 10, 15 minutes before the tsunami hit. >> and where does that leave you right now is this do you have any plans to travel to

gentlemanen gentleman japan and join in the search? >> we would like to. we're asking for permission to do that.oin in the search? >> we would like to. we're asking for permission to do that.the search? >> we would like to. we're asking for permission to do that. >> we know there continues to be communication difficulties and let's hope is just that. thanks so much for coming on and talking to us. >> you're welcome. we're back in a moment, but first these messages. capital one has asked yours truly to talk about the venture card "match my miles" challenge.

they're so confident their miles are better, they'll match the miles you've earned on your airline credit card -- up to 100,000 -- on a new venture card. it's unbelievable. believe it. venture card miles are good on any airline, anytime. it's like an upgrade from this... to this. sign up for a venture card at capitalone.com today and get up to 100,000 miles. what's in your wallet? impressive, right? commuters waiting for a train in los angeles were stunned to see a man trying to abduct a young woman. and when it happened, these men and women did much more than just watch. they stepped into save the victim. kristen welker reports. >> reporter: the images captured by a surveillance camera are haunting. >> these actions were incredibly brazen. >> were you scared? >> i was terrified actually. >> reporter: karen witnessed

what authorities say was a kidnap attempt.pictures show a man in a white t-shirt grabbing a young woman waiting for a train thursday afternoon in los angeles. >> he grabbed her from behind and he like put his hand right across her shoulder like this and held her. >> reporter: and then you can see a group of about ten by sander is an stand ders surround the perpetrator and tackle him. that allowed the vehicle it tim to rvictim. the suspect also fled. sgle got up as if nothing happened and he ran inside the train. everyone was kind of like standing in shock. >> reporter: the suspect didn't get far. investigators say they arrested 46-year-old james burnett at the next rans it stop. they say burnett is a registered sex offender with a criminal record. authorities say the victim has come forward. she is shaken, but okay. and doesn't want to be identified. now their attention is focused on finding those good samaritans

who sprung into action to save her. >> what they did was really unique. >> yes, it was. these people said no, they said this is not going to happen today. not on our station, not on our train line, not in our city. >> reporter: authorities plan to track down all of the subway riders who took matters in to their own hands. citizens who put themselves at risk to rescue a complete stranger. for "today," kristen welker, nbc news, los angeles. great story. still ahead, turning a bad marriage into, a yes, good divorce. but first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come on "today," new details on prince williams' trip overseas and kate middleton's visit with her future in-law. plus the mystery novel being printed on lamp posts. but first these messages.

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>> good morning. i'm lowell melzer. a six-year veteran of the baltimore city police cours is recovering -- force is recovering after being shot on harford road. detectives say the officer approached a young man on a bike when the suspect shot the officer in the neck. another officer shot the suspect. the officer, whose name is not released, is said to be in stable condition. >> education funding and pension changes dominated budget decisions into the night. the house appropriations committee got a first crack at governor o'malley's budget. more than $58,000 used to restore cuts to education. state employees required to pay 7% from their salaries to pensions. others set to increase, vanity license plates and fees residents pay to file property taxes. the budget now headed to the senate. >> an anne arundel county grand jury began hearing testimony in the investigation of john

leopold. the state prosecutor is looking at whether leopold used security detail for personal reasons. five county police officers are assigned to the unit. yesterday several of them testified. the investigation came to light when the president of the county firefighter's unit said leopold used the unit to pick up a campaign donation last fall. >> and a programming note, mary pat clark will be our sunday morning q & a guest. if you have a quess, send your questions to sundayquestions@www.wbaltv.com, and also post your questions on our facebook page. we'll be back with a check of

>> good morning. the sun is up and out. moving through the clouds a bit. cool front overnight passes to our south. chillier air coming in. counteracted by warming from the sun today. we won't be as warm as yesterday. there will be no rain chances. we just won't be warming up as rapidly because of cooler air filtering into the area. temperatures rising out of the 40's and 50's and into the upper 50's to near 60's for a high during the day today. down in virginia, readings expected to make it to the low 60's for the highs. here in baltimore 48 to 52, mostly sunny skies. breezy. a few gusts stronger than 10 miles an hour. longer term forecast, not a bad day sunday. typical temperatures, mid 50's. a lot of sun. rain chances monday, tuesday, wednesday.

chillier at the end of the week. there might be rain and snow flakes by next friday. >> thanks, john. thanks for joining us. "11 news saturday morning" starts in 25 minutes. stay with us. we're back on this saturday morning, march 19th, 2011. the last day of the long winter season. we cannot wait for spring to arrive tomorrow. i'm sure our great crowd here feels the same way. amy robach along with lester holt. >> 41 days until the royal wedding. a lot went on this week from the journey to australia and new zealand to kate going out on the town with her royal in-laws. >> and now even that famous

see-through dress was sold at auction, we have everything royal coming up in just a bit. >> also be talking divorce unfortunately, but perhaps a better spin on divorce. we'll speak with one of the best known lawyers in the business and he'll talk about how both sides can leave the marriage without losing their mind or a good deal of their money. >> and then we love a good mystery novel. well, this one may be the most mysterious of them all. the pages are popping up on lamp posts around one new york city neighborhood. it's a great who dun it. we'll take you on the search for the next page and the secret author. >> aing to posting your writing. bill karins has another check of our forecast. >> a little chilly out here. you're from st. louis. what's your name? >> amanda. >> we like to have everyone nice and comfy out here today. hey, buddy. as far as the forecast go, beautiful conditions out there.

i know much cooler, but at least it's sunny. warm florida to texas. west coast heavy rain from >> good morning. the sun is out. high temperatures in the 50's. stormy stuff out west doesn't come in until next week. our forecast today, plenty ofl.. mountains of california three feet of snow. that's a look at your weekend forecast. lester. this morning on countdown to the royal wedding, just 41 days away. this morning we have news on the home front and abroad with kate middleton in the uk and prince william in australia.

kyra simmons is live with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. you can already feel the excitement building here. all the same prince william has left his bride to be to make wedding plans opver the weekend while he's carrying out the royal duties that they will soon perform together. this weekend prince william is in australia to meet victims of the recent cyclone. in just six weeks, a visit such as this will see two royals in attendance. perhaps they were planning the big day. his choice of footwear a rousing some comments. no fashion faux pas when he walks into westminster abbey.ro some comments. no fashion faux pas when he walks into westminster abbey. the tension already building.

>> it's tremendously exciting and it will be a wonderful occasionally. >> reporter: an occasionally marked by an array of memorabilia. there are even unofficial dolls for those who want to do more than just watch the ceremony and a special beer called kiss me kate to toast the couple. they have asked for not for wedding presents but for donations to charity. >> for them to step up and say we want to use this opportunity, use the world's attention and do something transformational is admirable. >> reporter: amid the plans for the future, there was a yen tell oig reminder of the pass. the see-through dress born by kate at a fashion show was sold at auction.the see-through dres kate at a fashion show was sold at auction.pass. the see-through dress born by kate at a fashion show was sold at auction.pass. the see-through dress born by auction.ashion show was sold d for around $100,000. soon a very different dress will come to symbolize the next stage in their relationship.

while william is waaway, charle and camilla were seen with kate it at the ballet. a sign perhaps that she is almost already part of the family.at the ballet. a sign perhaps that she is almost already part of the family.at the ballet. a sign perhaps that she is almost already part of the family. it's being called the ultimate reality show. the royal wedding is expected to command the biggest audience in tv history. will it deliver? joining us is a royal contributor. let's talk about that dress that sold at auction $125,000. will this continue to have huge historic significance? >> reporter: in my opinion, this dress is definitely something of a marilyn monroe feel about it. remember the dress monroe wore in '62, that's become historical and i think it this dress will be far more so because of the royal connection. when you actually see it up droe close, i have to tell you girls

it's not that great quality dare i say, but once it's seen on that body, it does become worth quite a little bit more. to the guy who bought it, it will continue to rise. so we wonder if he'll maybe sell it on. >> now you tell me it's poor quality, who wants it. let me talk about william is overseas. kate hit the royal ballet with her future parents in law. what's your take on this outing? is it all part of the preparation? >> reporter: it's a very kind jess ch gesture. what's interesting is their choice of venue. the royal ballet of course, princess diana was a patron of that particular charity, too. so i'm guessing that maybe kate would go down that route once she becomes of course an official royal, once she married in 41 days i'm. a clever move by her, but with

dough know that she $5 doadores night out. >> prince william was sent to new zealand as the official representative of the queen to boost morale down there in the wake of the earthquake there. why do you think he was sent? is this part of solidifying him in the image of a king? >> reporter: a lot of people in britain are thinking why didn't charles go and the bottom line is that he will become the next king. but i think from the point view of the royal image, prince william is young and i think from his point of view, he wants to obviously go, he's been there before. and i think he has lifted mora e morale. but he hopefully says he can't to much but offer simple path this. which we all do. thanks very much.

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divorce. >> there is no misery in the world like divorce. >> he's a high powered divorce lawyer with a client list that includes well-known faces and the exs of even bigger stars. >> in hollywood, they developed this two step, we respect and admire each other and continue to be parents and hope to be friends. sub text, i hate your guts. >> if he would erhe's used to g wanted, but more importantly, what his clients want. when he represented robin givens, she reportedly walked away with $10 million after being married less than a year. and his take no prisoners persona was on display when he took on former new york mayor rudy giuliani as a client. >> my client has not ever said anything bad about his wife. i said bad things. >> reporter: now after four decades of seeing firsthand how divorces can go tragically wrong, he's written the good

divorce, how to walk away financially sound and emotionally happy. and with me now is author of the good divorce. good morning. >> good morning. >> i must say when people hear your title, the good divorce, people say there is no such hing thing. why did you choose the title 1234. >> because there can be good divorces. what happened is i had apepiphany and i observed one. there are only two situations that can be cured by signing a paper. if you're granted a pardon or a divorce decree. second thing i've observed that every once in a a while i was getting a client who was happy divorce was a pleasure for him. and there's a way to have a good divorce. >> you say that births and

deaths canccidental, but divorce is never an accident. >> some of them are planning it for years, but it's always a deliberate thought out act. >> how do you know when it's time to get a divorce? >> you don't really. like giving birth. what i tell people, a simple test. if you're a p one, does your husband ever travel? oh, yeah. think about it. when he go, do you feel better? next day i get a call. he was traveling. i felt like a bird out of a cage. then you got to get divorced. >> and then you got see who to turn to. divorce lawyers like yourself are not exactly cheap. they can cost a lot of money. so what should someone consider when they want to file? >> first of all, when you meet the lawyer, if he says to you we're going to destroy you or your spouse, he'll be sitting in the gutd ter, run out of there.

h then you ask him what are his plans? see if he sounds logical. talk about what it's going to cost. and if the lawyer is embarrassed to talk about money, imagine how he's going to be with your spouse's lawyer. he's for tnot going to be very . and reasonable. be reason be. second and third rule maybe the most important rule is don't bring the kids in to it. >> and that's obviously for everyone's benefit. you say that oftentimes the first offer a woman gets is her best offer. >> yeah, because a man comes in and approaches the divorce and he says i just want to cheat a little bit, i don't want to ruin her. but then the anger starts and the case starts and they're angry. i want to get her the hoe elowe possible. so if you're dealing with a normal person, the best offer comes originally and you have to consider a that. >> you say normal, but how are

celebrity divorces different than regular people? >> it's like fighting a corporation. you have to deal with the manager, the press guy, financial adviser. and on top of all this, you have people listening and saying, yeah, great, let's do it, let's get the helicopter over there and see what she's doing. that sort of stuff. >> they're very rarely the good divorces. all right. the book is the good divorce. thank you. >> thank you. and we're back, but first this is "today" on nbc.

we all love a good mystery novel, but one of the most talked about books can't be found in stores. instead it's appearing page by page on the streets of new york. and it has a lot of folks

wondering who is behind it. in the age of digital media where the ebook is a common fixture, if new york city's eastville alleeast village, a novel idea. posting a story, but not online. >> i'd like to think we had 30 good years. >> reporter: this new who dun it requires detective work on the part of reader who is directed to a different street for each installment of the story. the pages are hard to find and most passers by had to be told they were are. but justin says the work is making a statement. >> the act of posting it is what creates the experience. it has nothing on do with what the text is.ton do with what the text is.on do with what the text is. do with what the text is. it requires you to do physical leg work. also seems to be part of the task. >> reporter: the east village has been the van guard of art movements at tracks poets in the '50s and andy warhol in the

'70s. it was the birth place of punk rock.70s. it was the birth place of punk rock. and it was the setting for the musical rent. this is the latest radical idea and not everyone agrees it's good one. the owner of stromboli pizza says the author could have a wider audience. >> we have the technology and just do it over the internet. >> reporter: justin says the work romanticizes books. >> it's a felt idea. you know what the desire for change is and what the potential for loss is. >> reporter: no one has yet claimed credit for the work and so far it only goes up to page 12 leaving readers to wonder who the mystery writer is and when they'll strike again. page 12, that leaves you hanging. >> really, 300 -- i mean, how long is this novel? that is quite a task. >> one good rainstorm could wipe

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>> plus we'll meet one boy who tells the story of how he fought his bully. le i'll see you tonight on "nbc nightly news." >> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning and welcome to

11 news saturday morning. i am lowell melser. >> i am jennifer franciotti. a baltimore city police officer is recovering from a gunshot wound that happened last night on harford road. the officer approached a man on a bicycle. the suspect was shot by another officer. we will have more in a few minutes. scary moments for howard county students when their bus crash. officials said the bus was on its way to the national aquarium. police say there were about 20 children on board. fortunately, no one was hurt. there is no word on who was at fault. an anne arundel county journal -- jury have started hearing testimony looking into whether

leopold used his security detail for personal reasons. the investigation came to light when the president of dfirefox fighter unit used the unit. >> up next, dr. kim hammond has answers to your pet questions. >> and, how to avoid being the victim of a scam artist. >> march madness is in full effect, but is it effecting activity in the workplace? >> record high temperatures spread not as warm today.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking -- this is wbal-tv 11 news saturday morning. >> good morning. i am jennifer franciotti. >> i am lowell melser. our top stories in a moment, but first a look outside with john collins. we also want to welcome pack 444, cub scouts, watching to see how the news works. >> they picked a nice day. today it turned out to be a nice day, not as nice as yesterday. day, not as nice as yesterday.